Workshop: 20 October 2025

EVENTSPAST EVENTS

25 Sept

Written By Fuel.ie

Prioritising research for Offshore Renewable Energy and Marine Biodiversity in Ireland

Venue: MACRO Centre, Green Street, Dublin 2
Time: 10-4pm
Date: Monday 20th October 2025

Ireland is at a pivotal moment, with urgent targets for offshore wind development bringing a critical transformation in how Ireland approaches planning and development. To ensure these decisions are well-informed, it is crucial that the best available scientific evidence on the environmental and biodiversity impacts of ORE underpins policy, planning, and consenting.

To support this, the MARÉIRE project at the Irish Environmental Network (IEN) commissioned Howell Marine Consulting to produce a report Identifying Knowledge Gaps on the Impacts of Offshore Renewable Energy on Biodiversity at Sea. The report highlights the potential effects of ORE on Ireland’s biodiversity at sea and reveals the critical evidence gaps that must be addressed as a priority.

This workshop brought together NGOs and academics to identify and prioritise the most urgent research needs. The goal is to provide government and research funders with a clear, stakeholder-driven list of evidence priorities that reflects the independent expertise of biodiversity, ecology and environmental specialists, free from potential bias or influence by government priorities. By ensuring these recommendations come directly from the NGO and academic community, we can present the government with a strong, objective, and evidence-based message: these are the research areas the expert community believes must be prioritised to strategically safeguard marine biodiversity as ORE development accelerates.

Workshop Aims

To validate and prioritise evidence gaps identified in the IEN report and pre-workshop questionnaire.
To explore, through group discussion, why particular evidence gaps matter, what research is needed, and how they should be communicated to decision-makers.
To create a clear, strategic action list of research priorities that can inform national planning, funding, and future roadmaps.